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On Tuesday, Chuck Kobasew was struck on the inside of the left leg on an unprotected spot by a Zdeno Chara slap shot, just between the boot and his shinpad.

"There's a little area this big," said GM Peter Chiarelli, holding his fingers slightly apart, "where the puck hit."

Kobasew, who will be sidelined for 4-8 weeks because of a fractured tibia, was at TD Banknorth Garden this morning, moving around on crutches with his leg in a cast.

"It's a tough time of year when there's six games to go to be dealt with this," said Kobasew, Boston's second-leading goal-scorer.

Glen Murray will most likely take Kobasew's spot on the No. 1 line alongside David Krejci and Marco Sturm.

* Marc Savard will not play tonight and will also be unavailable on Saturday against Ottawa and Sunday at Buffalo. Chiarelli declined to comment on a Boston Herald story that disclosed a broken bone in Savard's back. Chiarelli said Savard will be re-evaluated after the weekend.

* Andrew Ference (knee sprain) will not play tonight. Ference was scheduled to skate this morning but wasn't feeling well enough to go. Ference wasn't sure whether he'd be able to skate tomorrow.

* Patrice Bergeron passed his neuro-psych test yesterday, yet another checkpoint in his comeback from his Grade 3 concussion. Bergeron, however, has not been cleared for full-contact practice. That might come after his appointment this afternoon with a neurologist. Bergeron has been symptom-free for a week. Once he's cleared for full-contact practice, Bergeron estimated he might require seven to 10 days of on-ice sessions without headaches before he can return to play. Bergeron also said he needs to put on 10 pounds and work on his conditioning before he's game-ready.